The Suitcase Opera Project

The Suitcase Opera Project

The Suitcase Opera Project is a rather remarkable thing that creates fully formed art from a found object. Yes, artists create that kind of stuff all the time, but when was the last time you heard of an opera being created from found (technically, bought on eBay) objects? Chicago Opera Vanguard is still woodshedding its effort, which means you get to see it free as it gets worked through. The opera is based on 49 letters written by a man named Jimmy, some of which were written in the 1940s. "People tell me in 10 years I will be in the gutter. I'm almost looking forward to the prospect," Jimmy writes to his friend Howard in 1948. Many years later, famed performer and monologist David Kodeski won the letters in an eBay auction. Jimmy is 18, gay, dishonorably discharged from the Marines and living in New York. "The Suitcase Opera" presents a world crafted from that suitcase full of letters, the third of four pieces that make up In the Works, a theater lab series being hosted at Millennium Park. Thursday-Nov. 10, Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, Randolph Drive and Michigan Avenue. chicagovanguard.org

The Suitcase Opera Project is a rather remarkable thing that creates fully formed art from a found object. Yes, artists create that kind of stuff all the time, but when was the last time you heard of an opera being created from found (technically, bought on eBay) objects? Chicago Opera Vanguard is still woodshedding its effort, which means you get to see it free as it gets worked through. The opera is based on 49 letters written by a man named Jimmy, some of which were written in the 1940s. "People tell me in 10 years I will be in the gutter. I'm almost looking forward to the prospect," Jimmy writes to his friend Howard in 1948. Many years later, famed performer and monologist David Kodeski won the letters in an eBay auction. Jimmy is 18, gay, dishonorably discharged from the Marines and living in New York. "The Suitcase Opera" presents a world crafted from that suitcase full of letters, the third of four pieces that make up In the Works, a theater lab series being hosted at Millennium Park. Thursday-Nov. 10, Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, Randolph Drive and Michigan Avenue. chicagovanguard.org

The Suitcase Opera Project is a rather remarkable thing that creates fully formed art from a found object. Yes, artists create that kind of stuff all the time, but when was the last time you heard of an opera being created from found (technically, bought on eBay) objects? Chicago Opera Vanguard is still woodshedding its effort, which means you get to see it free as it gets worked through. The opera is based on 49 letters written by a man named Jimmy, some of which were written in the 1940s. "People tell me in 10 years I will be in the gutter. I'm almost looking forward to the prospect," Jimmy writes to his friend Howard in 1948. Many years later, famed performer and monologist David Kodeski won the letters in an eBay auction. Jimmy is 18, gay, dishonorably discharged from the Marines and living in New York. "The Suitcase Opera" presents a world crafted from that suitcase full of letters, the third of four pieces that make up In the Works, a theater lab series being hosted at Millennium Park. Thursday-Nov. 10, Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park, Randolph Drive and Michigan Avenue. chicagovanguard.org